These A-list stars had their biggest pay checks for a single franchise.
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Working in Hollywood entails a lot of talent and hard work, but some A-list celebrities like Keanu Reeves, can bag over a $100 million paycheck in just one go. Sure, he crawled his way up to fame and achieved superstar level, making him very desirable for producers and filmmakers.
Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Revolutions
Like Reeves, Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise and Men in Black actor Will Smith also proved very in demand in the movie business. While other celebrities struggle to find gigs, these two actors are usually sought after.
Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, And Will Smith Bagged Over $100M On A Single Role
Keanu Reeves had a very fruitful decade because of his John Wick franchise. The movies were massive hits among fans, an unexpected success from director Chad Stahelski. But, even before his fame as a vengeful assassin, he already appeared in The Matrix film series which cemented his career in Hollywood.
He was paid $250 million for the trilogy which is roughly $83.3 million per installment. Interestingly, the actor donated 70 percent of his earnings from the franchise to charities.
Tom Cruise, on the other hand, earned over $100 million for his role in Top Gun: Maverick. The exact amount is unknown, but the actor originally agreed to take a modest salary of $13 million upfront to secure the movie deal and a percentage of box-office earnings.
Tom Cruise in Top Gun: Maverick
As per Forbes, “Cruise gets over 10% of the first dollar gross, which is based on the money Maverick distributor Paramount takes in after theaters get their cut, typically around 50%.” Top Gun: Maverick became the second highest-grossing film of 2022, earning $1.49 billion at the box office.
Will Smith reportedly took home $100 million after starring in Men in Black 3, a major blockbuster hit that grossed over $624 million in 2012. The actor negotiated a deal where he would bring home a percentage of the film’s earnings on top of the standard rate of $20 million. He also had a similar arrangement for Men in Black 2.
Tom Cruise’s And Will Smith’s Other Famous Franchises
Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men In Black
There are only a handful of actors who earn nine figures based on a single role. But, high-profile figures like Keanu Reeves, Tom Cruise, and Will Smith have more than one role that is well-known and well-loved by fans.
Aside from Top Gun: Maverick, Cruise starred in the long-enduring franchise Mission: Impossible. The actor reportedly earned between $70-100 million per installment, making his work on the Mission: Impossible films one of his biggest paydays.
Smith, on the other hand, also had the Bad Boys film series to back him up. Although the pay check for each installment was not as colossal as Men in Black – he reportedly earned $39 million for the trilogy – there is still another upcoming installment that would certainly add more money to his bank account.
